Burks Orchestrates 105-100 Jazz Victory Over Sixers

By Sean Kennedy

Facing a Utah team with one of the league’s worst records, on the second night of a back-to-back, and playing the majority of the game without their best big man, the Sixers’ poor pick-and-roll defense doomed them to defeat in the final minutes. Philadelphia’s eighth-straight loss was seen by many to be the best possible outcome for the team, as it further distanced them behind a team they’ll be battling with for lottery odds come summertime. Oh, how strange it is to be a Sixers fan in 2014.

After Michael Carter-Williams drove to the hoop for a successful and-1 to tie the game at 91 with two minutes left, Utah’s Alec Burks took over the game. Burks went on a personal 9-0 run over the next 5 Jazz possessions, as part of a game-high 26 points, to basically seal the game for the Jazz. The run was aided by a couple dumb Sixers turnovers, but mostly powered by Philadelphia’s inability to guard a simple pick-and-roll. All game long, the Jazz had been setting a screen for Burks up top (usually with whatever man Hawes was guarding), and rather than coming out with a strong hedge to stop Burks from turning the corner, Hawes or another Sixers big man sagged off into the lane. Recognizing the Sixers don’t have any semblance of a shot-blocking presence, Burks continually went straight to the basket to finish at the rim or more often, get fouled (13-14 at the free throw line). After the big run in the final minutes, James Anderson hit three consecutive three-pointers to try and bring the Sixers back, but the result was academic at that point.

However, even if you’re the type of person still rooting for Sixers victories, there was something to be excited about in this game (other than not losing by 40), as Carter-Williams absolutely dominated fellow rookie point guard Trey Burke. Many teams choose to defend MCW with a bigger guard and ‘hide’ the smaller point guard on James Anderson, but the Jazz opted to keep the 6’0″ Burke on Carter-Williams throughout the game. That decision proved to be a mistake, as MCW was able to get to the rim at will and finish over Burke, as well as survey the entire floor, and find open teammates for easy buckets. The Sixers’ first-round pick finished with the stuffed stat line of 19 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks, in what was his best all-around performance in weeks. More telling, he had a +19 plus/minus on the game as the Sixers were by far the better team when he was on the floor. Hopefully, this performance, combined with the experience he’ll have while participating in all-star weekend, will give the young point guard some renewed confidence going into the second half of the season.

Box Score

Notable Observations:

• An 8-0 run by the Sixers put them ahead 8-6 in the first quarter, which marked their first lead at any point since the third quarter of the Lakers game (that was three games ago in case you blacked out from all the terrible basketball over the last week). To go over two games without even having a lead is some Washington Generals-like play, and it was a welcome respite as a viewer to see some competitive play against the Jazz.
• Gordon Hayward didn’t have a particularly good game despite his loaded stat line, shooting just 3-17 from the floor. However, he had two eye-popping plays that made me take notice. In the first half, Hayward was partially ahead of the pack on the break, but Thad Young was more or less running alongside him. Rather than going up for the lay-up and using his body to shield off Young from the side, Hayward sprang up and threw down an explosive two-handed dunk. Then, at the end of the third quarter, Arnett Moultrie received a pass out in front that should have been an easy lay-up. But Hayward hustled all the way back after having missed a three-pointer in the corner on the offensive end, and blocked Moultrie from behind. The man has some hops and needless to say, I came away very impressed by the former Butler star despite the poor shooting.
• Derrick Favors exited the game in the first quarter with a right hip strain, but the Sixers didn’t necessarily take advantage, still getting out-rebounded by Utah 45-40. Philadelphia did recognize that the Jazz were missing their best shot-blocker and attack the rim more, especially MCW and Thad Young (19 points).

Tanking Implications:

We pretty much covered this but any loss to a fellow bottom-dweller will prove worth their weight in ping pong balls after the season. However, unlike the affronts to basketball that were the last two losses, viewers of this game were at least treated to an encouraging performance from MCW. He vastly outplayed Burke, who was taken two picks ahead of him in the 2013 draft. To be fair, Burke missed a good portion of this season due to injury so he’s bound to be behind some on the development curve, but MCW just looks to have the size necessary to compete in today’s NBA. 5/5 tanks